The unthinkable unfolded inside the Cairo International Stadium on Saturday as AFCON 2019 hosts Egypt saw its quest to potentially win the tournament fall apart, following a 1-0 defeat to South Africa.
The scripts were simply defied with the Bafana Bafana giving the Pharaohs a match that will linger in their memories for a very long time. Despite being labelled as the underdogs, Stuart Baxter's side responded by being as composed and resilient as possible, rendering the Egyptians almost powerless in their own backyard.
While the biggest chances of the game mostly fell to the hosts, it was the moment of brilliance by South Africa's Thembinkosi Lorch that decided the fate of the Round of 16 clash. A fast break in the 85th minute proved to be rewarding after a well-worked move involving Lebo Mothiba and Lorch resulted in a sensational goal for Bafana Bafana.
THE SOUTH AFRICAN FOOTBALLER OF THE YEAR SCORES FOR #BAFANABAFANA
— SuperSport (@SuperSportTV) July 6, 2019
A brilliant counter-attack from South Africa sees Lebo Mothiba feed Thembinkosi Lorch the ball and he finishes with perfection to stun the 70 000+ at the Cairo International Stadium.#AFCON2019 pic.twitter.com/U9qulNTRfY
With five minutes of regulation time left to play after the goal, there was very little the Egyptians could do, neither did the four minutes additional time prove adequate for Javier Aguirre's men. Against the run of play, the Pharaoh's recorded their second-ever defeat at the knockout stage in the five times they have hosted the Africa Cup of Nations.
Having been slammed for an uninspiring campaign which saw them qualify to the Round of 16 as one of the best third-placed teams, South Africa's win against Egypt undoubtedly ranks among the AFCON's biggest upsets ever recorded. Baxter's side will now face Nigeria in the quarter-final stage after the latter also defending champions Cameroon 3-2 in dramatic fashion earlier on Saturday.
